Chandigarh, December 4: Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that all preparations would be completed by December 31 for the successful conduct of the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Panchkula which is scheduled to be held from February 5 to 14, 2022. As many as 25 different types of sports will be organized in this sports event, in which about 10000 players from across the country will participate. This opening ceremony will be held on February 5 at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector-3, Panchkula, he added.

The Chief Minister said this while addressing the media persons after inspecting the preparations being made for the Khelo India Youth Games at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula today. Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Sh. Sandeep Singh also remained present on this occasion.

The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs for allowing Haryana to host the Khelo India Youth Games.

The Chief Minister informed that 25 different sports would be organized under Khelo India Games. There are 20 such games that are already being organized. Besides this, five regional games have also been added this time, which include Gatka of Punjab, Thang-Ta of Manipur, Kalaripayattu of Kerala, Malkhamb of Maharashtra and Yogasan. 

An amount of Rs. 250 crore will be spent on the development of necessary infrastructure for these games, of which Rs. 150 crore will be spent for infrastructure development and Rs. 100 crore will be spent on other equipment and facilities.

He said that all the preparations for the infrastructure being developed as per the requirement of all the sports would be completed by December 31. Entire arrangements are being made for the lodging and boarding, and transportation of the players.

Divulging detailed information about the games, the Chief Minister said that along with Panchkula, these games would be organized in Ambala, Shahabad, Chandigarh and Delhi.  He said that the final matches of most of the games will start from February 8, which will be telecast live through Star Sports channel.

In response to a question regarding compliance with the guidelines of COVID-19 during the Games, the Chief Minister said that compliance with the Pandemic guidelines would be ensured.  He said that two cases of the new variant of the COVID-19  that has just been detected have been found in the country. The health department and all other departments are on alert and the health department is fully prepared to deal with any situation.

The Chief Minister said that Haryana is continuously progressing in sports and the state government is increasing the budget of sports every year. Where the budget of sports was Rs 151 crore in the year 2014-15, it has now increased to Rs 394 crore in 2021-22, which is more than double.

He said that 500 sports nurseries, which were closed due to COVID-19, have been revived to nurture sports talent among the budding sportspersons since childhood under the State Government's 'Catch them Young' Policy.  In addition, 500 more sports nurseries will be developed.

The Chief Minister said that sports stadiums are being renovated at the village level.  Besides this, mapping is also being done by the government and where the number of sports stadiums is less, sports stadiums will be built as per the requirement.

The Chief Minister said that the players have also appreciated the initiative of the State Government to give an amount of Rs 5 lakh in advance for the preparation to Olympic players.  Besides this, Haryana is the only state that not only in the country but also in the world, is known for giving the highest amount to the Olympic winners as a reward.  Keeping in view the progress of Haryana in the field of sports, other provinces are also studying the sports policy of Haryana.

He said that a Scientific Training and Rehabilitation Center is being set up in Panchkula to prepare the players mentally and physically for sports.  Apart from this, such centres will also be set up in Karnal, Hisar, Rohtak and Gurugram.

The Chief Minister said that on the occasion of Divyangjan Diwas tomorrow, he has announced to set up a Divyang Sports Corner in one stadium in every district.

On this occasion, Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Sh. A.K.  Singh,  Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, Sh. Mahavir Kaushik, Commissioner of Police, Panchkula, Sh. Saurabh Singh, Director, Sports and Youth Affairs Department and OSD, Khelo India, Sh. Pankaj Nain and SDM, Smt. Richa Rathi also remained present.